This book is intended for all members of the health care team who look after elderly people with diabetes mellitus. This includes specialist nurses in diabetes and care of the elderly, other nurses who might be involved with elderly diabetic patients, hospital doctors, general practitioners, dietitians, and other paramedical staff as well as students in these various disciplines. It is not an exhaustive text, but includes plenty of background references for those who wish to pursue a topic further. FOREWORD It has been said that old age is not so bad when you consider the alternative; but, fortunately on occasion symptoms attri­ buted to ageing are due to treatable disease. This useful book draws attention to diabetes mellitus, a common illness in elderly people, which can cause serious disability and should be diagnosed promptly and treated correctly. In this text the facts are well documented that the diagnosis may alarm old people and thus a full explanation must be given and the likely benefits of an adequate therapeutic regimen described. Drs Paul Knight and Colin Kesson are physicians intimately concerned with the day to day diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and they have enlisted the assistance of colleagues of outstanding ability, thus demonstrating the vital importance of teamwork in the control of this disease.